Horner's closest allies at Red Bull are 'very unhappy' within the team now

13:28, 17 Jul

Updated: 13:30, 17 Jul

byTobia Elia

According to Dutch commentator Nelson Valkenburg, many Red Bull staff members were upset by Christian Horner’s decision last year to renew Sergio Perez’s contract despite his poor results, but now his closest allies are reportedly "very unhappy" since he’s no longer in charge.

Even though he hasn’t been at the helm for several days, Christian Horner’s presence continues to resonate strongly within Red Bull’s orbit.

Although his successes and achievements over the past 20 years have firmly placed him among the most successful team principals in Formula 1 history, it’s no secret that the former team principal made several enemies both in the paddock and within his own team—especially following Dietrich Mateschitz’s passing in 2022.

Some of Horner’s recent decisions during his time at Red Bull—such as renewing Sergio Perez’s contract despite the Mexican’s poor performance—raised eyebrows among the middle management.

This is the opinion of Dutch commentator Nelson Valkenburg, who stated on The Race F1 Podcast: “There were some rumours last year that the middle management in that team was getting frustrated with the fact that it was a one-car team, that Perez wasn’t bringing in the points, so they lost out on the constructors.''

''There is a problem there. I think there’s been a brain drain at Red Bull, and there’s a problem getting the right people there, but the people that are there now have seen the team fall away. I think they’re fourth in the constructors right now.''

“You can’t rely on bonuses every year, but if you’re so successful as that team has been over the past few years, it’s something you get accustomed to.''

Christian Horner

Another hurdle for Mekies to face

Another challenge that Laurent Mekies will now have to handle is that many of Horner’s most loyal supporters reportedly feel unhappy about recent events.

''They (Red Bull) want to be better, so they need better people. Horner wasn’t able to get them, but the people who stayed were very loyal to Horner, they’re very unhappy as well,'' Valkenburg added.

“What we’ve heard over the last few days, we’ve had some calls with some people there, is that the people that were still there, the core team that were so loyal to Horner, are super unhappy.''

“It’s a bit damned if you do, damned if you don’t, but that team is not going to really warm up to Mekies super quickly. He’ll win them over, but there are a lot of hurt people there.''

''It just doesn’t look good either way, whether it improves the opportunity to get the right people in, that’s the second matter, but for the immediate future, that’s an unhappy team.”